


Life On the Spectrum

by thatwriterlady



Series: October Drabbles 2017 [31]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Attraction, Autism Spectrum, Castiel Has Two Children, Castiel Likes Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester Likes Castiel, Dean has a son, Fluff, Halloween, M/M, Parents Of Children On The Spectrum, Prompt Fic, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 11:01:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12580304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwriterlady/pseuds/thatwriterlady
Summary: It had already been a rough Halloween and Dean's son was bordering on having a meltdown when his video game stopped working.  Dean was tired and frustrated too, and he couldn't get the damn thing to work.  When the doorbell rang announcing more trick or treaters he took the moment to regain his composure and try to calm himself down before he went back to try and get the game working again.  He had no idea that when he opened that door he'd find so much more than just more trick or treaters.  He'd find a friend and someone that understood completely what he was going through.





	Life On the Spectrum

**Author's Note:**

> Here we are, at the last one for the October challenge. The word for today was "Mask". I had one 3/4 written out, hated it, slept on it, woke up, and wrote this instead. I think this is cute and I like how it came out. Yes, I touch on the topic of autism again. It's one that's near and dear to my heart. I hope you all like this one. Happy Halloween, and Blessed Samhain!

“Daddy!  It won’t _work_!”  Ben whined.

 

“I’m trying, buddy, trust me, I’m trying.”  Dean was getting frustrated because the one game his son wanted to play was the one game the system was refusing to accept.  He ejected it again and looked at it for scratches.  Nope, it was clear.  When he glanced back at Ben, the boy was rocking and humming.  His stimming only got this bad when he was really stressed out.  Trick or treating earlier had worn him out and they’d been out for less than half an hour.  He’d promised his son that he could come back and play his video games.  All had been well until he’d wanted to switch to this one.

 

“Daddy!”

 

Dean took a deep breath and slid the game in again, hoping to hell that it worked this time.  It didn’t.  The doorbell rang announcing another batch of trick or treaters.

 

“Hang on, buddy, I have to go hand out some candy.  When I come back we’ll get it working.”  He promised.  He’d long ago learned to buy doubles of all the games just in case this crap happened, he just hated opening the copies because he was screwed if those broke.  Ben whined as he left to go answer the door.  He grabbed the bowl of candy on the table and took a deep breath, forcing a smile onto his face before opening it.

 

There was a man standing there with two kids, one around Ben’s age, and a dog.  Dean’s smile widened when he saw that even the dog was in costume.  It was dressed up as the Flash, complete with mask, and sitting obediently by the man’s side.

 

“Trick or treat!”  The kids both chimed.  Dean looked at both of them, his heart melting at how cute they both looked.  The boy was dressed as Captain America while the little girl was dressed up as the most adorable bumblebee he thought he’d ever seen.

 

“Well don’t you guys look fantastic!  You know, Captain America’s my favorite.”  Dean said as he dropped candy into both of their waiting buckets.

 

“Mine too, and my dad’s.”  The boy smiled up at the man with him, and that’s when Dean looked up at him too.  He nearly did a double take, the man was gorgeous!

 

“You’ve got good taste.”  He said, smiling.  The other man smiled back.

 

“Yes, well, as the father of two, I end up watching quite a few super hero movies.”  The man’s voice was deep, gravely, and amazing to hear. 

 

“Oh, I know, I have a son too.  He loves them.  Dressed up as the Hulk tonight.”  Dean said.  Somewhere in the house there was a crash and the sound of a high pitched shriek.  The dog pulled free from the man’s hand and raced into the house before he could stop her.

 

“Honey!”

 

“She doesn’t bite, right?”  Dean asked as he hurried after the dog.

 

“No, she’s a therapy animal for my daughter, she’s a sweetheart.”  The man assured him as he followed on Dean’s heels.  He stopped short of slamming into Dean who had paused in the doorway to a den. 

 

“I noticed.”  Dean motioned to a little boy who was sitting on the floor, his back against a couch and his arms wrapped around the dog’s neck.  Her entire body was pressed into his side in an attempt to calm him.

 

“You said she’s a therapy dog.  What kind?”  Dean asked, turning to look at the other man.

 

“Emotional support.  My daughter is on the autism spectrum.” 

 

“So is my son.” 

 

The man offered his hand.  “My name is Cas.”

 

Dean shook it firmly.  “I’m Dean.  This is my son, Ben.”

 

Cas realized he’d left his kids at the door but then they were sliding into the room behind him.  “This is Jack and Claire.”

 

Jack noticed the white television screen while Claire sat down on the floor on the other side of the dog.  Honey licked her face, making her giggle.

 

“Ben wanted to play his video games after he came home but I can’t get his game to work.  He’s reaching his max frustration level and honestly, I’m having a pretty stressful evening myself because I can’t figure out _why_ it’s not working."  Dean sighed.

 

A second later the game’s music began playing and both men looked over in surprise.  Jack had figured it out.  Ben was grabbing his controller excitedly.

 

“Do you want to play with me?”  He asked Jack.

 

“Sure.” 

 

Ben handed him the other controller and they sat down to play.  Claire stared up at the screen, watching their characters with rapt fascination.

 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t expect my children to just invite themselves over like this.”  Cas apologized.

 

“It’s ok, I really don’t mind.  Ben doesn’t make friends easily but he loves other kids.  He craves the interaction so if you don’t mind letting them play for a little bit, I’m cool with them staying.  If Claire gets bored, I have a television in the living room and cable, so there are plenty of cartoons.  There’s toys too.”  Dean said.  “How would you like a cup of coffee?  It’s pretty cold out there.”

 

“Coffee sounds wonderful.”  Cas followed him to the kitchen where he sat down at the table to watch Dean prepare a pot.

 

“Is it just you and Ben here tonight?”  He asked.

 

“I’m divorced.  My ex and I split custody and Halloween I get him because he can be a bit too much for her to handle.  This is a high stimulation night for him.  I have primary custody anyway.  She isn’t as emotionally equipped to deal with his needs as I am.”  Dean explained as he pulled two mugs out of the cabinet and fished creamer out of the fridge. 

 

“I am divorced as well.  Since before Claire was born, actually.  Their mother and I have an amicable relationship though and we split custody evenly.  I got them tonight as I enjoy taking them trick or treating.  Amelia had to work.”  Cas said.

 

“You said Claire’s on the spectrum?”  Dean asked.  Cas nodded.

 

“She was diagnosed last year.  Her speech was delayed and we noticed other things, like stimming, emotional outbursts, and not wanting to be around anyone except her mother, brother or me.  I’m a psychologist and I recognized the symptoms when she was a baby.  My ex argued with me for a long time, until she couldn’t ignore them any longer.  Once I had her on board, we worked to get her formally diagnosed.  I got Honey initially as a pet, but she took immediately to Claire, calming her when she’d have an outburst or was scared, and somehow that dog has managed to not only get my daughter to come out of her shell and virtually blossom, but she has gotten Claire to talk, to begin to socialize with other children, and to communicate more with her mother and me.  She sensed your son was upset and her instinct was to calm him down, so that’s what she did.  I had her registered as an emotional therapy pet the week after I brought her home.  She’s a miracle.”  Cas was grateful for his dog.

 

“I’ve talked with my ex about getting a dog for Ben.  But a service dog.  My buddy Jesse and his husband breed and train them and they’re willing to give me one for Ben.  The dog would be trained to stick close to Ben and recognize his panic attacks, and get him to a quiet space when he’s in an emotional overload. They’re currently working to train dogs to work with kids with mild autism, and they want to use Ben as their spring board, so they’ll know if they’re doing it right.  In return, we get a free dog.  It’s a lot of training, both for the dog, for Ben, and for us, but I’m willing to do it if it helps my son.  He’s pretty high functioning but sometimes he just…”  Dean got up to pour the coffee.  Once he had the mugs filled he carried them back to the table, setting a spoon and a small plate down in front of Cas as well.

 

“He gets overwhelmed and can’t use his words?”  Cas offered.

 

“Exactly.”  Dean sat down and added a dash of the liquid creamer to his own coffee before using his own spoon to stir it.  Cas added a more generous amount to his before stirring it and taking a sip.

 

“Claire went from not speaking at all to having a nearly full vocabulary overnight.  She’s three, almost four, and she literally just began talking about six months ago.  The first time she said daddy, I cried.  It was the most wonderful thing I’d ever heard.  Now I hear it a million times every day.”  He said with a chuckle.  Dean laughed.

 

“Yeah, I know what you mean.”

 

“It’s still wonderful to hear though.  And she’s blossoming.  We have her in therapy and she’s doing quiet well.  She’s learning to use her words and how to think before reacting.  It’s a work in progress.  All toddlers act first and think later, regardless of whether they’re autistic or not.  They’re emotionally driven.”  Cas said.  Dean hummed in agreement.

 

“This is true.  Ben’s nine now, but still very emotionally driven.  We’re starting now to move into the very beginning of the pre-teen phase.  I’m getting a bit of lip now.  Not much, but enough that I know I’ll be gray by the time he’s 18.”

 

“Jack is ten.  I’m going through the same thing.”

 

Dean looked at the other man over the rim of his mug, aware of the fact that Cas was watching him right back. 

 

“What do you do for a living, Dean?”

 

“I own an automotive restoration shop.  I restore classic cars.”

 

“Oh, fascinating.  I love classic cars.  I go to a couple of car shows every year.  My father had a 1950 Jaguar Mark V.  It was in mint condition and he would take it around to all of the shows for years when we were kids.  I was devastated when he sold it, but I found out later that he’d done that to pay for part of my medical school costs.  My scholarship didn’t pay for all of it.  Later, he got an Oldsmobile and restored that.  Showed that for a while, but it wasn’t the same.  Eventually he sold that as well.  I still feel guilty about the Jaguar.”

 

“Wow, I’ve seen one of those, they’re amazing.  I show my own car, a ’67 Chevy Impala.  It was my dad’s and he passed her down to me.  I’ve restored her twice now.  Once after my dad wrapped her around a tree and once after some asshole hit me.  She’s a beauty.  I’ve been working on cars since I was in diapers, but restoring classics is what I always wanted to do.”

 

“That’s wonderful.  I went into medicine because that’s what my father wanted, but I enjoy it.  I wanted to go into theatre.  When I was a boy I dreamed of being on Broadway.  Except I had horrible stage fright.  I could do plays in school but in front of an even larger audience?  I’m not sure I could have ever done that.”  Cas laughed.  Dean grinned. 

 

“I did theatre too, except once they learned I could sing, they kept making me do singing parts.  I’m pretty sure they were writing songs into plays without them just so I would sing.”

 

“It’s possible.  For some reason high school theatre teachers seem to think dramatic plays need song and dance.  They don’t always.”  Cas said.

 

“True.”  Dean agreed.

 

“So, what do you do when you’re not being a stressed out parent?  Or working?”  Cas asked.

 

“Oh, well, when I’m not cleaning the house I’m usually kicked back watching TV.  I don’t have much of a social life.” 

 

“Me either.  Dating with two young children is next to impossible, so when I’m not at work and I don’t have the kids I’m usually doing the same thing, curling up on the couch watching a show, eating the ice cream I only buy when they’re not at home.  Otherwise they want to gobble it all down and I don’t get any.”

 

Dean barked out a laugh and slapped the table.  “Right?  I do the same thing!”

 

Cas laughed too, all teeth and gums.  Dean loved it.  “Well, if you’re ever up for company, perhaps I could join you?”

 

Dean smiled, feeling the stirrings of something warm and wonderful in his belly for the first time in years.  “Yeah, I’d like that.  And we don’t even have to talk about the kids.”

 

Cas chuckled and nodded.  “Good, because I do like to talk about other things.”

 

“Like classic cars?”

 

Cas smiled wider, his nose scrunching up in the most adorable way.  “Yes, among other things.”

 

“Me too.” 

 

“Daddy, look!  Her name is Honey and she’s the Flash!”  Ben came into the kitchen with the dog at his side.

 

“I know.  She’s pretty cool, huh.  Uncle Jesse and Uncle Cesar have dogs like Honey too.”  Dean scratched Honey’s cheek since her head was covered by her mask.  She licked his palm and wagged her tail. 

 

“I like her.  She’s my friend.  Jack is my friend too.  And Claire.” 

 

“That’s good, but what are you doing in here?  Aren’t you and Jack playing a video game?”  Dean asked.

 

“I wanted to show you Honey.”  Ben said, jutting his lower lip out in a pout.

 

“I know, sweetheart.  She’s a beautiful dog.” 

 

Ben looked at Cas and then at his dad.  “Are you on a date?”

 

Dean’s eyes widened and his cheeks flushed red. 

 

“Uh, no, this isn’t a date.”

 

“But you drink coffee on dates.  That’s what mom says.  A good first date is coffee.”

 

Cas snorted and quickly covered his mouth with his hand.  Dean side eyed him which just made him laugh harder.

 

“He’s not wrong though, it _is_ a good first date.”

 

“Jack says his daddy likes boys like you like boys.  So this is a date.”  Ben declared before trotting out of the room with Honey right on his heels.  Dean stared after his son, his jaw slack with shock.  When he finally was able to compose himself and look over at Cas, he found the man blushing hard.

 

“Well, he’s not wrong about that either.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

Cas smiled softly.  “It’s why my wife and I divorced.”

 

“Oh.  I’m bi.  It’s not why Lisa and I divorced.  We just weren’t in love anymore.  But that was awkward.  I didn't expect my kid to just call me out like that.”

 

Cas laughed softly.  “Kids call it like they see it.  To him it looked like we were on a date, so…we’re on a date.  Kid logic.”

 

“True.”  Dean sat forward, wrapping his hands around his mug and absorbing the warmth.  “But I wouldn’t mind taking you out on a real date sometime.”

 

The smile he received that time was absolutely brilliant.  “I’d love to.  We can figure out a time later.  In the meantime, I’m still up for ice cream and crummy TV shows while we talk without kids around.”

 

“I’m all for that too.”  Dean said.  This was by far the best Halloween he’d experienced in a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are always welcome. Thank you for reading!


End file.
